Hi everyone! Well, I'm currently studying for CLEP Accounting, and CLEP Macroeconomics and Microeconomics. I'm thinking about taking DANTES Technical Writing -- what's your opinion regarding this test? Thanks! Sara
FIRST check with the school in which you are transferring the credit towards your degree. There is an essay portion that may or may not be required. You need to find out. In my case, I took the DANTES Technical Writing (without essay) to satisfy a lower level humanities requirement. If I did (and passed) the essay portion, I would have received credit for the actual "technical writing" course. I didn't need that kind of credit so I only did what was required. There is a good thread on this board for this exam. Know about types of memos, who the audiences would be, how or why tables and graphs would be used, that kind of stuff. The fact sheet from the DSST website is your best reference. I did get a Technical Writing Handbook from Half.com for about 5 bucks which was helpful to keep me focused. Good luck.
Easy stuff I remember that exam being one of the easier ones requiring little to no study..up there with Here's to your health. I believe they had questions like dealt with formatting letters and such..where does the header go etc. Have looked at the sample questions they give you with the Fact Sheet? I didn't need to do any essay. I'm going to TESC though- Yes, best thing to do is get a Technical Writing book. You should be able to find one at your local library.
Sarah, I want to reiterate what some people here are saying about checking with the school first. The school I got my A.S.T. from would not take this exam, nor will it take statistics, college mathematics, civil war and reconstruction or a whole bunch of other exams. I was flabberghasted at the number of exams they snubbed. My (admittedly cynical) reasoning for this is that, as a two year school, they are in competition with the exam outfits, and generate no revenue by granting credits for exams, but do generate (needed) revenue by making students take the courses. Hope this helps some. Sean